After some research and discussion, Franz finally came up with an unexpected answer - the British could not hold on.

This "can't hold on" does not mean that the British are about to endure. In fact, the British Empire is at its peak and no one can threaten their world empire.

It’s just that the colonial empire is essentially for making money. There are too many international conflicts now, and countries stab each other and dig holes, greatly increasing the cost of colonial maintenance.

The investment is getting bigger and bigger, but the benefits obtained do not grow simultaneously, and sometimes they are reduced due to unrest. Against this backdrop, it is not surprising that the London government wants to stop this unnecessary struggle and reduce colonial costs.

There was also a colonial meeting in the original time and space (Berlin Conference), but it was created by the Belgians. Leopold II took advantage of the conflicts between the great powers and successfully obtained the Congo region.

Now the Congo region has fallen into the hands of Austria early, and Africa's 6 are almost divided up, so Leopold II will naturally not do useless work.

The Berlin Conference will not be present now, and the major colonial empires still lack an opportunity to communicate in depth and mediate conflicts.

Although Britain, France and the Austrians formed an alliance, they only reached an agreement on core issues. There was no time to discuss the details of each colony.

Don’t think that the three major countries have the advantage in colonial division, and think that they can do whatever they want. In fact, major colonial empires are not easy to mess with.

Perhaps their military strength is not as good as that of the Three Kingdoms, but it is still possible to stab the knife secretly, such as: spreading nationalism and supporting the colonial independence movement.

The surging colonies in recent years is the best proof. If someone counts, it will be revealed that the number of colonies' uprisings is increasing year by year.

If this situation continues, no one wants to make money happily. Especially the British who have the largest colonies, the most cost of ruling is also the highest.

The Vienna government did not feel it clearly, it was caused by Austria's colonial policies and special geographical environment.

Although the colonies in Austria are not small, the indigenous population is not large. There are not many people, so how can they go to chaos?

The rebellion that can be suppressed by police is not worth mentioning at all. In contrast, the British are tragic, not only with the largest territory, but also with the largest population.

Nearly half of the colonial uprisings that have broken out in recent years have been born in British colonies. If the London government is not in a hurry, there will be problems.

This is the result of the British striking hatred everywhere. On the surface, everyone dared not do anything to them, and stabbed them secretly without any pressure.

Not to mention anything else, Austria alone invests millions of Syrian shields every year, specifically to export various ideologies and ideas to the outside world, most of which are targeted at the British.

The London government has not failed to fight back, the problem is that they cannot find suitable pawns, otherwise the British would not make great efforts to save the Ottoman Empire.

The British ate the most during the colonial movement and offended the most. Now not only Austria, but almost all major European colonial empires are making small moves secretly.

As long as there is no evidence in this kind of thing, except for secret revenge, the London government is powerless on the surface.

Even if they want to make excuses and put diplomatic pressure on small countries, France and Austria will jump out to smooth things out and make them have nowhere to vent.

This is the disadvantage of a large population. The total population of British colonies is as high as 400 million, the total population of French colonies is only 400 to 50 million, and the total population of Austrian colonies is less than 30 million, which is not at the same level at all.

During the colonial movement, the British received the most rewards and also paid the highest cost of domination.

The saying "population is wealth" is not correct at all times. It also requires a transformation process. Only by utilizing the population can wealth be created.

There is no doubt that the British could not use so many people in the colonies. Otherwise, not to mention that the two countries of Austria, even if the European countries are combined, they will not be their opponents.

In the colony, Austria was the one who used the most to utilize the labor force. This was not Franz's cheating, nor was it the Vienna government's management very well. It was entirely determined by the quality of the population.

The Austrian colonies are not large in population, but European immigrants and their descendants account for more than half of the total population.

This number is incomparable to Britain and France. The population base determines that they cannot produce so many immigrants. Without enough immigrants, the local indigenous productivity is very backward, and the wealth they create is naturally limited.

The French should feel the deepest. Judging from the financial income of the colonies alone, the French colonies have lost money for many years.

There is nothing strange about it. Not only the French family have experienced the loss of money in the colony, but almost all colonial empires have experienced it.

However, it usually starts at the beginning of the colony, and after reaching a certain level, it will turn losses into profits. There are only a few colonies that have been losing money.

Austria is the representative of it. It lost tens of millions of Chinese shields every year at its peak. Even now, there are still many places that are losing money. Overall, it has only achieved a balance of income and expenditure.

Of course, this is simply calculating the direct fiscal revenue of the colonial government. If the colony adds to the domestic economy, the situation will change.

The British attracted people to hate them, and that was because they occupied the most fertile land. Even if they adopted the most backward domination method, they could make profits directly and earn more than everyone else.

In contrast, the French are tragic. Compared with the same period in history, they carried out the "Desert Empire" more thoroughly.

Since it is a desert empire, naturally, don’t expect the land to be fertile. Before the underground natural resources are opened, French and Africans are just concentration camps for ruins.

If Napoleon III had not immigrated from the Balkans and Italy and had made a certain degree of gain in North Africa, I would have probably lost even more miserably now.

Of course, there is no benefit to many deserts. At least in terms of dominance costs, the French are not expensive.

In other areas, the rebels could roam around, hiking in the valleys, and desert areas would die as long as they were far away from the oasis. Therefore, the French rule in North Africa was still quite stable.

After clarifying the idea, Franz was very clear: mediating international disputes through negotiations and reducing international conflicts is already the general trend.

Driven by interests, almost all colonial empires have the demand to reduce the cost of colonial rule. If they are blocked in this context, they will stand opposite to everyone.

Franz doesn’t like to block the car with a mantis arm. Since it is everyone’s common demand, then let’s get involved.

Austria was also a member of the colonial empire. Reducing some disputes was also a profitable person, but the British did not get much.

Franz: "Easing international conflicts and reducing colonial maintenance costs are good for everyone, and we don't need to be this evil person.

Now everyone will think about how many benefits we can get this time.”

Can colony maintenance costs really be reduced?

Franz didn't believe it deep down!

Perhaps it can be reduced in a short period of time, but it is destined to grow in the long run. Especially in densely populated areas, the future ruling cost will inevitably increase significantly.

Everything else is easy to deal with, but things like thought and ideology are uncontrollable. As long as they are passed on, they cannot be taken back.

The seeds have been sown, and no one knows when they will take root and sprout, and then bloom and bear fruit.

Felix said: "Your Majesty, in fact, we have become spectators in this division of the meeting. There are too few places suitable for us and can get it.

Now the only areas available for colonization are the Ottoman Empire, Persia, the Far East, parts of the Indochina Peninsula, and parts of East Africa.

South America is barely considered, but they have become independent. For the sake of ruling costs, these areas are only suitable as economic colonies.

The Ottoman Empire is the most suitable for us. In other regions, either the competitors are too strong or the distance is too far. We are out of reach, and it is not worth the loss if we get it.

Britain and France will not allow us to annex the Ottoman Empire, so it is difficult for us to gain something by dividing the feast this time."

"Economic Colony" is a new concept proposed by European scholars after the increasing cost of colonial rule.

Simply put, the cost of direct rule is too high, so it is changed to supporting agents to seize wealth through unequal trade agreements.

There are many advocates of this concept. In everyone's perception, colonies are just for making money. As long as they can make money, it doesn't matter what way they rule.

Felix Xiang proposed large colonies, and in addition, there were many scraps, but because the area was too small or the economic value was too low, it was not worth paying attention to.

Among these areas, the richest is undoubtedly the Far East, but the situation here is the most complex and the powers are gathering.

Austria has no foundation in the local area and has missed the opportunity to participate. Moreover, the distance is too far, and it has exceeded the limit of Austria's strength deployment.

Persia was regarded as a treasure by the British, and was seen by John Bull in close proximity to India, and he would turn against anyone who touched him.

The Prussian Kingdom on the Indochina Peninsula occupied a corner, the British and the French were fighting for it, and at this time, Austria would definitely be squeezed out if they joined in.

East Africa is already an optional "small rib" for Austria. Its economic value is limited and it will lose money for a long time. It is the British who have taken the lead in strategic locations, so it is almost impossible to get it.

Although South American countries are suitable as economic colonies, due to distance, Britain and France have a greater influence in the local area, and Austria's influential is close to Colombia, a colony in Central America.

Franz nodded helplessly. Austria is no longer the protagonist in this last colonial feast. If you join in, you will be excluded by the joint force.

"I'm too greedy. Austria has gained enough benefits and is already very hateful. Now it's time to digest it well.

This time we divide the feast, it is enough for us to protect the existing interests. It is an unexpected joy to gain, and don’t be sad if you don’t gain. For some scraps, it’s not worth getting angry.”

After adjusting his mentality in time, Franz felt much more relaxed. Greed is the original sin of mankind. If he cannot control his greed, he will sooner or later embark on the road of no return.

There are many countries participating in this spoils and sharing feast. It seems that the remaining benefits are quite large, but in fact, there are not many distributed to a specific country.
Chapter completed!